Carriers attachable to automobiles and for use in carrying vehicles

ABSTRACT

A carrier is disclosed that is attachable to automobiles of various types and includes a support having a ramp hingedly connected to its rear end and consisting of transversely hinged sections. The ramp may be unfolded for use in loading and unloading vehicles and folded into a substantially vertical position and then connected to the support to provide a barrier at the rear end thereof. The attachment of the carrier depends on the type of automobiles but the invention includes front and rear mounts. Desirably, both mounts are laterally adjustable and desirably the connection between the support and either or both mount is pivotable.

United States Patent Nelson [76] Inventor: Bernard Nelson, R.F.D. l,

Rockland, Maine 04841 22 Filed: Feb. 24,1971

[2i] Appl. No.: 118,276

[52] U.S. CI. 214/450, 214/85.1 [51] Int. Cl. B60r 9/00 [58] Field ofSearch 214/85.l, 450, 85;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,612,366 10/1971 Schneider214/450 3,352,440 11/1967 Wilson 214/85 3,385,488 5/1968 Bronson224/42.l F

CARRIERS ATTACHABLE T0 AUTOMOBILES AND FOR USE IN CARRYING VEHICLESPrimary Examiner--Drayton E. Hoffman Assistant Examiner.lohn MannixAttorney-Abbott Spear [57] ABSTRACT A carrier is disclosed that isattachable to automobiles of various types and includes a support havinga ramp hingedly connected to its rear end and consisting of transverselyhinged sections. The ramp may be unfolded for use in loading andunloading vehicles and folded into a substantially vertical position andthen connected to the support to provide a barrier at the rear endthereof. The attachment of the carrier depends on the type ofautomobiles but the invention includes front and rear mounts. Desirably,both mounts are laterally adjustable and desirably the connectionbetween the support and either or both mount is pivotable.

5 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3.777. 921

INVENTOR BERNARD 6. NELSON BY o ATTORNEY PAIENIEDIRI 1 m 3.777. 921

W INVENTOR BERNARD a. NELSON /5- F/G. BY QM,

ATTORNEY PAIENIEU I SHEU 5 I]? 3 vF/G /2 INVENTOR BERNARD G. NELSONATTOR EY CARRIERS ATTACHABLE TO AUTOMOBILES AND FOR USE IN CARRYINGVEHICLES The present invention relates to carriers attachable toautomobiles of different types and particularly adapted for use intransporting from plac'e-to-place such vehicles as snowmobiles. gardentractors, snow blowers, and four wheeled lawn mowers;

Passenger automobiles have proved to be adaptable work horses" and arewidely used to haul trailers ranging from those that are small andeasily handled to large campers." Trailers have the objectionablefeatures that, apart from their expense, they present parking andstorage problems as well as requiring registration fees. They aredifficult to maneuver. In addition, trailers are unsafe at high speedsand are otherwise a traffic problem. A wide range of car top carriershave been provided for attachment to passenger automobiles for carryinga wide range of articles including special purpose carriers for suchheavy objects as boats, campers and skimobiles. See for example, U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,343,696, 3,527,371, and 3,209,770.

The widespread use of such vehicles as four wheeled lawn mowers,skimobiles, snow blowers, ad garden tractors has created problems. Amongthese is that confronting the seller in making delivery to the buyer andthat of the purchaser in making use of such a vehicle at a distance fromthe place of its storage. At the present time, trailers are used incarrying such vehicles even with their above noted disadvantages.

The general objective of the present invention is to provide a carrieradapted for use with any such vehicles, an objective attained with acarrier attachable to an automobile, wheather a sedan, coupe, stationwagon, or truck, and having a support and means for attaching thesupport to the automobile, in a rearwardly and downwardly inclinedposition when its front end may be supported by the roof of theautomobile and its other end supported by the rear end thereof. Thecarrier includes a loading ramp hingedly connected to the rear end ofthe support end so that it may have a ground-engaging position and beswung upwardly therefrom. The carrier is provided with means to connectthe ramp, when swung upwardly, to the vehicle support so that it becomesa barrier against rearward movement of the supported vehicle.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a ramp that, whilesufficiently long to ensure easy loading and unloading does not extendupwardly to an objectionable extent when employed as a barrier, anobjective attained by providing that the ramp includes hinged sectionsenabling it to be folded when not in use for loading or unloadingcarried objects or for supporting the rear end of the support in anelevated position.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide front and rearmounts attached to the automobile that are laterally adjustable andanother objective is to pro vide that the connections between thesupport and either or both mounts is pivotable.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an embodiment of theinvention from which the above and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the carrier attached to an automobile and inits vehicle carrying position;

FIG. 2 is a view of the carrier, as seen from the rear of theautomobile, with the ramp in its vehicle loading or unloading position;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the carrier in its FIG. 2 position;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the carrier positioned to permit access to thetrunk of the automobile to which it is attached;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary and partly sectioned view, on an increase inscale, taken substantially along the indicated lines 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 6-6 ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross section of the vehicle support of thecarrier;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear 'view of the rear mount;

FIG. 9 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 9-9 ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary side view of a pick-up type of truck with acarrier attached thereto and the truck body partly broken away;

FIG. 1 l is a like view but with the vehicle of a station wagon typewith the carrier attached thereto;

FIG. 12 is a side view ofa deck attachable to the support when smallwheeled vehicles are to be carried; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the deck attached to the support.

A carrier in accordance with the invention consists of a vehicle supportgenerally indicated at 15 and with an automobile such as that generallyindicated at 16 in FIGS. 1 4, secured thereto in a downwardly andrearwardly inclined position.

The front end of the support 15 is detachably attached to a front mountgenerally indicated at 17 and detachably attached to the roof of theautomobile 16. The front mount is best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 and itspreferred construction will subsequently be detailed. The rear end ofthe support 15 is detachably attached to a rear mount generallyindicated at 18 shown as detachably connected to generally indicatedadaptors 19 secured to the rear ends of the automobile frame. The rearmount 18 may best be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 and will subsequently bedetailed.

The carrier also includes a ramp generally indicated at 20 andconsisting of two sections 21 and 22 interconnected by a hinge 23. Thesection 22 is connected to the support 15 by hinge means generallyindicated at 24. The hinge 23 permits the ramp sections to be foldedinto their FIG. 1 relationship in which the ramp constitutes a barrierat the rear end of the support 15. When the ramp 20 is folded into itsbarrier-establishing position, it is connected to the support 15 as bychains 25 thereby to be held in that position until it is to be unfoldedinto the unloading and loading relationship of its sections illustratedby FIGS. 2 and 3. While the section 21 is longer than the ramp section22, thus to minimize the height of the barrier, both are of the sameconstruction so that a description of one will suffice. Each rampconsists, see FIGS. 1 and 2, of sides 26 interconnected by end members27 providing a frame for supporting a sheet of stretch metal 28 whichpermits satisfactory rear vision with the carrier attached but unloaded.The sides and end members are shown as formed of angle irons of which,in the case of the sides 26, one flange is disposed upwardly. In thecase of the end members 27, one flange is disposed downwardly. Thesection 22 is provided with stops 29 overlapping the ends of the sides26 of the section 21 to prevent collapse of the ramp in its FIG. 2position and also enabling it to function as a prop holding the rear endof the support 15, see FIG. 4, in such an elevated position as to permitthe trunk cover 30 to be raised or the support removed in a manner laterto be detailed.

The support is shown, see FIGS. 2, 7, 8, and 13 as consisting of sidemembers 31, angle irons, for example, interconnected at their front endby a transverse member 32, shown as a length of tubular stock. A likemember 33 interconnects the rear ends of the side members 31. The sidemembers 31 support a series of transverse load supporting members whichare desirably tubular members or rollers 34 through which rods 35 freelyextend with their ends held by the upwardly disposed flanges of theremote control members 31, see FIG. 7. The rollers 34 are of relativelysmall diameter and are spaced a substantial distance apart where askimobile generally indicated at 36 is to be carried since its skielements 37 and its treads 38 are of substantial length. Thisarrangement permits good rear visibility with the carrier attached butunloaded. The width of the support 15 is such that the ski elements 37fit between.

An offset mount 39, near the rear end of one of the side members 31 andfastened thereto, supports a winch 40 with its cable 41 trained about apulley 43, carried by a mount 44 on the transverse member 32 in acentral position with its braces 45 anchored to the side members 31, seeFIG. 2. The free end of the cable 41 is provided with a hook 46. Thewinch may be mounted on the front end of the support, particularly if itis of a remote control type.

Where wheeled vehicles such as small garden tractors, snow blowers, andfour wheeled lawn mowers are to be carried the above described supportcannot be used because of the distance between its rollers. It may,however, be readily converted to such uses by the addition of channelsbut preferably by the attachment of an all purpose deck generallyindicated at 47, see FIGS. 12 and 13, thereto. The deck 47 is shown ascomprising a frame 48 provided with cross braces 49 having dependinghooks 50 disposed to be caught by appropriate ones of the rollers 34. Asupporting surface is provided by a length of precut stretch metal 51permitting satisfactory rear vision when the carrier is unloaded and theframe 48 is dimensioned to fit within the vertically disposed flanges ofthe side members 31 of the support 15.

With the carrier as thus far described, and secured to the automobile16, it will be apparent that in loading a skimobile 36 or any otherobject that can be carried by the rollers of the support 15, theoperator first disconnects the chain 25 from the support 15 and unfoldsthe ramp into its position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. With the skimobilelined up with and close to the rear end of the ramp 20, the hook 46 maybe attached to the front end of the skimobile. The winch 40 is thenoperated to draw the skimobile over the ramp 20 and along the support15. The ramp 20 is then folded into its FIG. 1 position and the chainsreattached to secure the ramp as a barrier. It will be noted that theheavy end of the skimobile is thus as far forward as possible as isdesirable with all heavy objects. From the foregoing it will also beobvious the manner in which the skimobile 36 is unloaded.

It is preferred that the mount 17 consists of a pair of end supports 52dimensioned to fit the gutters 53 extending lengthwise of the roof ofthe automobile 16 with each support 52 provided with a hook 54 caughtunder the appropriate gutter. Each support 52 has a stub rod 55 slidablyentrant of a central tubular member 56. The width of the mount 17 maythus be adjusted as required to fit an automobile. Set screws 57 areprovided to lock the mount 17 in any extended or shortened relationshipof its components. The front transverse member 32 of the support 15 hasspaced keepers 58 which straddle the member 56 with their ends thendetachably connected as by bolts 59. While the support 15 is thusdetachably attached to the front mount 17, the interconnection ispivotable.

The preferred mount 18 is similar in that it is laterally adjustable andprovides a connection with the support that is pivotable. See FIGS. 8and 9. The mount 18 consists of a pair of end supports 60 provided withdepending legs 61 and slidably entrantofa central tubular member 62having set screws 63 engaged with the end supports 60 to lock the mountwhen its width has been so adjusted as to enable the forwardly disposedends 64 of the legs 61 of the end supports 60 to be inserted into theelongated sockets 65 of the frame-supported adaptors 19. Set screws 66are provided to lock the leg ends 64 in the sockets 65 and it will beappreciated that the sockets 65 are of substantial length enabling foreand aft adjustments of the mount 18. the tubular member 62 has arms 67to ensure the centering of the support 15 and the rear transverse member33 rests on the member 62 and has pairs of keepers 68 spaced to straddlethe member 62 with their ends then detachably interconnected by bolts 69to provide a pivotable connection between the members 62 and 33.

The manner of disposing the ramp 20 to enable the trunk to be openedwill be apparent from FIG. 4. It will also be apparent that, with theramp 20 in its FIG. 4 position and with the front end of the carrierunder an overhead support, not shown, the operator may connect the hook46 of the cable 41 to the overhead support and by operating the winch 40easily lift the carrier from the automobile with its mounts detachedfrom the automobile or the support 15 by itself if detached from itsmounts and may be aseasily reattached when its use is again wanted.

A carrier in accordance with the invention may be used with other typesof automobiles. For example, a truck generally indicated at 70 of the socalled pickup type, see FIG. 10, may have the front end ofa support 15secured to the roof of its cab in the manner previously described usinga mount 17 and its rear end supported by the rear of the truck body in aposition enabling the ramp 20 to be unfolded into its loading position.The trunk body has a U-shaped brace 71 pivotally secured to its sidesand dimensioned to bridge another support 15 resting on the floor of thebody and anchored to the front end thereof in any suitable manner, ahook, not shown, for example. The brace 71 is also dimensioned tostraddle a skimobile loaded on such other support 15. The brace 71 has acable 72 of sufficient length to enable it to be passed around the rearmember 33 of the support 15 and forwardly so that its hook 73 may beconnected to the hook 46 which may be detached from the snowmobile oncethe ramp 20 is in its barrier-establishing position. When thusconnected, the brace 71 is approximately in its solid line position.When the winch 40 is operated, the brace 71 is swung upwardly raisingthe rear end of the loaded support 15 to an extent enabling anothersnowmobile to be loaded onto the subjacent support 15. The raisedposition of the brace 71 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. and it will benoted that it is forwardly inclined. It may be secured in that positionas by detachable stops 74.

Carriers in accordance with the invention may also be used with astation wagon 75, see FIG. 11. For such uses, neither mount is used andthe front end of the support is anchored in any suitable manner as bychains 76 connected to the anchors for the seat belts. The length of asupport 15 is such that its rear protrudes from the rear end of thestation wagon and is supported by its tailgate 77 with the ramp disposedfor use as previously described. Because of the height of a skimobile inthe zone of its windshield, it must, in the case of a station wagon, beloaded therein, rear end first.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that carriers in accordancewith the invention are of a simple, rugged construction and are easilyinstalled and removed and otherwise well adapted to meet a wide range ofrequirements. While special mention has been made of the use of carriersin carrying snowmobiles, small tractors, snow blowers, and lawn mowers,other relatively heavy and bulky objects can be easily loaded andunloaded.

I claim:

l. A carrier for an automobile and for use in transporting such vehiclesas four wheeled lawn mowers, snowmobiles, and garden tractors, saidcarrier comprising a support for such a vehicle, a ramp hingedlyconnected to the rear end of said support and including forward andrearward sections and a hinge connection therebetween, means carried bysaid support for attaching it to the automobile with said ramp locatedat the rear thereof so that it may be swung between substantiallyvertical and ground engaging positions, and means operable to detachablyconnect the second section of said ramp to said support when said rampis in said substantially vertical position thereby to convert said rampinto a barrier, said hinge connection positioning the rearward sectionrearwardly of the forward section enabling the ramp to be unfolded intothe vehicle supporting relationship of its sections by rearwardlypulling the rearward section in which the connecting means is betweenthe second ramp section and the support.

2. The carrier of claim 1 in which the support includes a pair oflaterally spaced marginal side members. a transverse memberinterconnecting the rails at each end of the support, and a plurality oftransversely disposed and longitudinally spaced vehicle supportingrollers attached to and extending between said side members between saidtransverse members and the rollers are spaced apart to support therunners and tread members of a snowmobile, and a deck for wheeledvehicles, said deck dimensioned to fit between the side members of thesupport and including means for detachably securing it to said support.

3. The carrier of claim 1 in which the carrier attaching means includesa rearward connection comprising a first transverse member attachable tothe rear of the automobile, a second transverse member at the rear endof the support supported by the first transverse member, meansreleasably interconnecting the transverse member, the first transversemember includes end portions and a central portion with which the secondtransverse member is in engagement, the end portions being slidablyconnected to the central portion to enable the first transverse memberto be extended or shortened, a pair of sockets attachable to the rear ofthe automobile, and each end portion includes a leg detachably securedin an appropriate one of the sockets,

4. The carrier of claim 1 in which the rearward ramp section is longerthan the forward section.

5. The carrier of claim 1 in which the carrier attaching means includesa rearward connection to which the rear end of the support is detachablyattached, adaptors attachable to the frame of an automobile andincluding rearwardly disposed elongated sockets, and the rearwardconnection includes a pair of forwardly extending leg portions slidablein the sockets, and means to lock the leg portions therein.

1. A carrier for an automobile and for use in transporting such vehiclesas four wheeled lawn mowers, snowmobiles, and garden tractors, saidcarrier comprising a support for such a vehicle, a ramp hingedlyconnected to the rear end of said support and including forward andrearward sections and a hinge connection therebetween, means carried bysaid support for attaching it to the automobile with said ramp locatedat the rear thereof so that it may be swung between substantiallyvertical and ground engaging positions, and means operable to detachablyconnect the second section of said ramp to said support when said rampis in said substantially vertical position thereby to convert said rampinto a barrier, said hinge connection positioning the rearward sectionrearwardly of the forward section enabling the ramp to be unfolded intothe vehicle supporting relationship of its sections by rearwardlypulling the rearward section in which the connecting means is betweenthe second ramp section and the support.
 2. The carrier of claim 1 inwhich the support includes a pair of laterally spaced marginal sidemembers. a transverse member interconnecting the rails at each end ofthe support, and a plurality of transversely disposed and longitudinallyspaced vehicle supporting rollers attached to and extending between saidside members between said transverse members and the rollers are spacedapart to support the runners and tread members of a snowmobile, and adeck for wheeled vehicles, said deck dimensioned to fit between the sidemembers of the support and including means for detachably securing it tosaid support.
 3. The carrier of claim 1 in which the carrier attachingmeans includes a rearward connection comprising a first transversemember attachable to the rear of the automobile, a second transversemember at the rear end of the support supported by the first transversemember, means releasably interconnecting the transverse member, thefirst transverse member includes end portions and a central portion withwhich the second transverse member is in engagement, the end portionsbeing slidably connected to the central portion to enable the firsttransverse member to be extended or shortened, a pair of socketsattachable to the rear of the automobile, and each end portion includesa leg detachably secured in an appropriate one of the sockets.
 4. Thecarrier of claim 1 in which the rearward ramp section is longer than theforward section.
 5. The carrier of claim 1 in which the carrierattaching means includes a rearward connection to which the rear end ofthe support is detachably attached, adaptors attachable to the frame ofan automobile and including rearwardly disposed elongated sockets, andthe rearward connection includes a pair of forwardly extending legportions slidable in the sockets, and means to lock the leg portionstherein.